Influenced by the strength of the Canadian dollar, prices for manufactured products declined in May after six straight monthly increases, Statistics Canada reported today.

Meanwhile, crude oil pushed down prices for raw materials.

From April to May, prices charged by manufacturers, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index, registered a 0.5% decline, largely due to a drop in prices for motor vehicles and other transportation equipment as well as primary metal products and pulp-and-paper products.

Higher prices for petroleum and coal products tempered the decline, StatsCan said.

On a 12-month basis, the index advanced 3%, a slowdown from April’s 3.8% increase, with upward pressure coming mainly from higher prices for primary metal products and, to a lesser extent, increased prices for chemical products and petroleum and coal products.

The Raw Materials Price Index declined 0.2% from April to May after registering three straight monthly increases, due mainly to mineral fuels and ferrous materials, while non-ferrous metals continued their rise for a third straight month.

Raw materials cost plants 1.9% more than May 2006, down from an 8% increase in April, as non-ferrous metals drove an increase slowed by mineral fuels.